Serving as He Serves
Scripture Reading — John 13:1-17
“No servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
—John 13:16
Jesus knew he was spending his last night with his disciples. He had tried to explain to them that to love him was to serve him; that to be the greatest was to be the least; that the call to discipleship was the call to serve others in the name of God.
Because he knew this was his last chance, he tried one more time to teach his disciples by showing them what he meant. Jesus was the one person in the room who was most clearly not responsible to wash their dirty feet. And yet he quietly got up, put on an apron, and made his way around the room, doing the work of the least important servant in a household.
When he had finished, Jesus took his seat and asked his disciples if they understood what he had just done.
“This is how people will know that I love them,” Jesus ex-plained. “This is how they will come to know me. They will see you serving the way I serve, acting the way I act, being the kind of person I am—and they will know.” (See John 13:34-35.)
The next day, Jesus showed them exactly what it meant to be a servant when he gave up his life for them. He paid the ultimate price, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
Servants don’t just share the good news; they are the good news.
Lord, help me to be your servant today. I ask for the opportunity to serve with love in your name. Amen.
About the author — Thea Leunk
Thea Nyhoff Leunk has been a high school English teacher, a director of Christian education, a pastor of discipleship, and a regional coach for the Christian Reformed Church in North America. She is currently the senior pastor at Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Thea has also written courses for teens and young adults on world religions, Christian faith traditions, and science and the Bible. She and her husband have three adult children.
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